1. Field
The present disclosure relates to information displays, and more particularly pertains to a new removable system management information display for providing an information display that is movable between and usable with a plurality of different information handling components and that provides a larger display of information than may be possible with a display that is dedicated to and integrated on a single information handling component.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The mounting of the various components of an information handling system on a rack system can facilitate the collocation of a large number of the components, such as processors, switches, storage drives, as well as other items, in a relatively more compact space. Rack mounting systems for information handling systems are highly standardized, with the width and depth of the unit of each component being generally uniform. A rack unit is a unit of measure used to describe the height of a component mountable in a rack system. One rack unit, which is commonly referred to as “1U”, is typically approximately 1.75 inches (approximately 44.45 mm) high, and the width of the rack space is typically approximately 19 inches (in a 19-inch rack system) or approximately 23 inches (in a 23-inch rack system).
However, as the space in the rack is generally not physically divided in the vertical height direction, components mountable on a rack system are not necessarily limited to the 1U footprint. Thus, components that are larger than the 1U size may be mounted on the rack system. The sizes of the components tend to be integer multiples of the 1U size, such as components that are twice as high as 1U (and are referred to as “2U”), units that are three times as high as 1U (and are referred to as “3U”), and so forth. Components may be structured, for example, as an enclosed cabinet or a relatively open tray, although other structures for supporting the components on the rack system are possible.
Despite the ability to construct and mount components that are larger than 1U, it is generally desirable to keep the height of the tray or cabinet of a component as small as possible to minimize the footprint of the component in the rack, so that more components may be fit into a given rack. The rack system may be relatively deep, up to 36 inches or more, and thus elements of the component may be arranged relatively deeply behind the front panel of the component. As a result, there is an effort to limit the footprint of a component to 1U (or perhaps 2U if necessary), and thus many components on a rack system are only 1.75 inches high.
The limited space available on the front panel of a rack-mountable component does not provide a large area for communicating component status information from the front panel when positioned in the rack, which is highly convenient for those working with the components mounted on the rack system. Further, the overall area of the front panel is highly elongated, so not all of the area can be effectively utilized without spreading out the status information over a long area. This limitation is especially true in the case of 1U size components but even applies to 2U size and 3U size components. Generally, the status information must be communicated through a plurality of labeled light emitting diodes (LEDs) or single or double line displays that are not larger than the 1.75 inch height. Generally, physical and structural conditions for a cabinet or tray further limit the height of any display is limited to something significantly smaller than the 1.75 inch overall height. Also, the relatively small size of the display elements means that information (such as text) displayed on such elements tend to be small and difficult to read or recognize, and that the amount of information that can be communicated at one time is also limited.
Moreover, the visual status information for each component is usually not needed on a continuous basis, but only as operators or service technicians periodically visually scan the front panels looking for normal operation indicators or anomalies. Thus, while the information communicated from the front panel is important, this importance is not continuous over time.
Of course, the elements employed for communicating the status information from the front panel add expense to manufacture and maintain the component, and the more information that is sought to be communicated from the front panel, the greater the added expense. Not only do these elements add expense, but there can be a cost in terms of the space taken up by these elements in the component that cannot be utilized for more functional elements of the component.
Therefore, it is believed that there is a need for an apparatus that communicates information from the front panel of a rack-mountable component but is not is not incorporated into every component for which it provides information, and thus is not limited to use with only one component or limited by the physical footprint of the front panel of the component.